Backyard Battleground
Backyard Battleground is the new hub area in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 where the player can do quests to level up with the new ranking system, join up with friends, enter game modes and mission portals, and buy sticker packs. This is also where the player will be able to transfer the characters he/she unlocked from Garden Warfare 1, ''as well as their abilities. It is essentially a "hub world" from which all other modes and activities can be accessed. Description ''Welcome to your very own Plants vs. Zombies playground. In your Backyard Battleground you can edit your character’s abilities and customizations, choose quests, jump into co-op or multiplayer action modes, or invite up to 3 friends in to your backyard to start a party and take on AI – defeat a wave, and a more powerful wave will show up. You can also switch teams to challenge your friends! Backyard Battleground is your own frontline base to plan your attack before you enter the battle for Zomburbia. Features In the Backyard Battleground, the player can either play solo, play with a friend in split-screen multiplayer, or invite friends onto their hub. The player can choose to either be on the Plant or Zombie faction, and the player has a large map of the Backyard Battleground, which they can use to get to other places quicker. In the main bases of the gardens or graveyards, there is a multiplayer portal, where the player can enter online multiplayer, private or solo battles. There is a sticker pack vending machine, where the player can buy sticker packs using the coins they have obtained. The player can search around the Backyard Battleground to find quests and secrets, and can also play in the brand new Crazy Targets range, in which they test their aim in a frantic shootout to get their best time. There is a customization booth in each base, in which the player can customize their plants and zombies, and there is a van or airship (depending on which base the player is in), in which the player can access Garden Ops and Graveyard Ops. In the middle of the Backyard Battleground, there is a flag pole, which the player can raise to start an attack against the other faction. The opposite faction will try to attack you and the flagpole, and powerful waves will keep coming, with each wave stronger than the last. This is a good way for the player to earn coins and XP. In the middle of the bases (either in the giant tree or in Zomboss' mansion), the player can view a stats board, in which they can see their cool stats, which they can view their Most Vanquishes, Most Time Played, Highest Streak, Most Assists, Most Heals, Most Revives, etc. They can view their Stickerbook, and can also upgrade their character classes and variants via small bobbleheads of them. Upgrading a character will change their XP bar and their plaque when the character vanquishes a player, ranking from beginner to bronze, silver, gold, platinum and diamond. Out back, the player can enter one to three portals, in which the player can play a story mode, go to places only known by esteemed L.E.A.F. agents or top zombies, and other cool things, too. Facilities Each faction's base contain various facilities which serve the roll of main menu. Mailbox The player can see the latest news and announcements. The player can also import the character variants and abilities unlocked in Garden Warfare 1. The player can also obtain the loyalty rewards from the mailbox. Split Screen Activating the two TVs vertically stacking will initiate the Split Screen multiplayer. Each player can use his or her own account and can earn XPs independently from his or her partner. If the second player doesn't have an account, they can play as a guest, but they can't progress (they can't earn coins or XP) until they get a proper account. Multiplayer Portal This device is used for entering all game modes except Garden Ops, Graveyard Ops, Flag of Power and Crazy Targets. The player can either find a multiplayer match to play with players around the world (or in their region due to the Region Settings), they can set up a private match to play with friends against AI or the player can play a mode solo against AI. Quest Board The Quest Board contains various daily quests. The player will be rewarded with coins, stars and XP multipliers when quests are completed. Occasionally there will be special quests called Epic Quests. They are more challenging quests but they offer bigger rewards than normal quests. World Options (Friend Join and Backyard Settings) This device allows the player to change the difficulty of the backyard's AI enemies, invite the player's friends to initiate a multiplayer session of Backyard Battleground and also manually save your game. Ops Mode Crazy Dave's RV and Dr. Zomboss' blimp are used to enter their side's respective Ops mode. The player can either create or join a multiplayer match, set up a private Ops match to play with friends or they can go in solo in the new Solo Ops mode. Character Select Entering the Character Customization booth will allow the player to switch between factions, switch characters, and customize their appearances, abilities, gestures and upgrades. This booth can also be entered from anywhere by selecting "Respawn" from the pause menu. Team Swap Each base has a recruitment poster of the opposite faction. Interacting with one will teleport the player to the other faction's base and the player will respawn as the Plant or Zombie they were last. Note that the player can also switch between factions from the Character Customization booth. Sticker Shop The player can spend the coins they earn to buy sticker packs which contain reinforcements, character costumizations, and character variants. Stickerbook The player can see all unlocked plants and plant variants, zombies and zombie variants, accessories, abilities, gestures, player statistics, and Spawnable Plants and Zombies inside of it, plus the description of them. Character Stats The player can either go in the giant tree or Zomboss' mansion (depending on which faction you are) and will allow the players to see unlocked characters' individual stats, in the form of small bobbleheads. If a character reaches level 10 it can be promoted here. Promoting a character will grant the player 20,000 coins. In the middle of the room is the Stickerbook and a large stats board which shows the character who has the Most Vanquishes, Most Time Played, Highest Streak, Most First Strikes, Most Post-Vanquish Taunts, Most Healing, Most Revives and Most Assists. Loot Around the map, there are chests the player can open. When opened, these chests grant the player loot. However, the player requires stars from quests to open them up. Some chests contain coins while others contain Backyard customization items, which can be used to customize either side's base and also the giant statue near the dock. Story Quests In many parts of the map, the player can play solo story quests, either for the Plants or Zombies. The quests reward the player with coins, special customizations and are also good fun to do. Backyard Missions Around the Backyard there are many missions available for the player to take part in, which vary from fighting enemies, finding friends and shooting gnome targets. Secret Areas The secret area can be accessed through the pipes around the Backyard. They are all connected to a large sewer system, where the player can find the Crazy Targets range, a fish that trades Stars for XP and lots of loot. Game modes Flag of Power In Flag of Power, the player fights against hordes of AI enemies to protect the flag. The player must stay in a large ring around the flagpole to ensure the flag stays up. This mode is endless and doesn't end until the flag is dropped by the enemies. Crazy Targets In this mode, the player tries to shoot down all targets as fast as possible. The player can post their best times to the online leaderboard and can compare their records against other players. Crazy Targets needs five stars to open up. Soccer Pitch On the right side of the plant's base, there is a large soccer pitch. Players in the hub can play soccer by pressing the button in the pitch to start a match. A soccerball will spawn in the center of the pitch, and plants and zombies can either shoot or push the soccerball to move it. The goal is to get the soccerball into the opposing team's goal, while the opposing team tries to do the same. The scores are tallied on a large scoreboard, and some Weeds and Browncoat Zombies will appear on the stands and cheer the teams on. If a player shoots someone in the crowd, the entire crowd will come off the stands and start to attack the players. Trivia *The more AI players vanquish, the more hero, boss, and champion AI that will spawn on both sides. **This is reset upon raising the Flag of Power *On the Plants' side of the backyard, there is an ice cream shop called "Vanhoozer's Ice Cream". This is a reference to Jeremy Vanhoozer, Sr., creative director from PopCap. *The football pitch on the plant's side of the Backyard Battleground is labelled 'PEA Sports', a spoof on EA Sports. *A billboard showing an image of the Bandit Cactus next to a movie text saying 'The Good, The Bad and The Spikey' is a reference to the movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. *A sign saying 'Save our Seeds' is a spoof of 'Save our Souls'. **It may also be referencing Save Our Seeds, a Brain Buster in Plants vs. Zombies 2. *When the player starts the game for the first time, they will always enter the Backyard Battleground as a Sunflower, as the intro makes them play as one. *If the player goes into a doorway of the other team's base, a siren will go off, and enemy AI, enemy AI heroes and AI bosses will come out to attack you. *On the Zombie side of Backyard Battleground, near the docks, it is possible to find a gun shop that has four Z-1 Assault Blasters on display in a window. **This is the first time the player can find a primary weapon without its owner. The second time is in Z-Tech Factory. *In the multiplayer beta back in January 2016, there was limited access in the backyard battleground. **Also, it was possible to glitch out of the map using Citron or Peashooter and see the Top Zombies or L.E.A.F. agents homes. ***The player can also glitch out of the map and see Crazy Targets. *The Multiplayer Portal resembles the Stargate from the Stargate franchise. *In the town hall, there is a large gnome portal which is under construction. This will possibly be revealed in a later content update. *On one of the buildings of the Suburbia side of the backyard is graffiti that says "Viva la Planta". This references the term "Viva la Revolution". *Another building has graffiti saying "In tacos we trust", with Crazy Dave's head beside it. This may reference the religious term "In God we trust", and Dave's appearance on it vaguely resembles former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.